Celebs on $ale of the ˘entury

[40onTheBlue]

I recently chanced upon this image from the original run of $ale of the ˘entury: http://ow.ly/sk5ce

The photo was obviously taken after the changes to the contestant configuration and set design, but seeing Nanette Fabray and Anita Gillette paired with the contestants was definitely a surprise. Was bringing in celebs a last ditch effort by NBC to save the show from cancellation, or was this done during the syndicated run? And if it's the latter, could it have been for the same reason?

[TLEberle]

Could have been a chance to give partnerless folks a chance to play the game.

[Vahan_Nisanian]

It was for a Mother's Day week of the show.

[calliaume]

Was bringing in celebs a last ditch effort by NBC to save the show from cancellation, or was this done during the syndicated run?

Bringing in couples was a last-ditch effort by NBC to save the show from cancellation; by the time the Mother's Day week aired it's likely the network was ready to announce The Wizard of Odds as its replacement.

Having couples play together in a buzz-in format makes for logistical problems (what if they say two different answers simultaneously)?  Blockbusters did a good job of avoiding it by making clear which of the family pair buzzed in.

[TLEberle]

I read a thing that the familial pairs were meant to evoke comparisons to Gambit: was this true or horseapples, and if so how did the comparison work out?

[40onTheBlue]

I read a thing that the familial pairs were meant to evoke comparisons to Gambit:

I've also read that changing to two married couples was an attempt to compete with Gambit, albeit obvious and ultimately ill-fated. One wonders if redesigning the entire set was also part of the plan. Terribly garish and cheap looking, IMHO.

Many thanks to all for answering my query.